Netherlands removes all COVID travel restrictions

The Dutch government has scrapped all remaining Coronavirus entry restrictions, for all incoming travellers, including here those coming from non-European Union countries.

“The Dutch government has decided to lift the EU entry ban for the Netherlands as of September 17, 2022. Given the current epidemiological situation in the Netherlands, the government feels that for entry to the Netherlands, the EU entry ban is no longer proportional,” a statement issued by the government states. The removal of the restrictions will be applied to all travellers, including those arriving from countries outside the EU and Schengen area countries.

Up until now, travellers from countries that are not part of the Schengen Area and the EU have been required to present a vaccination or recovery certificate in order to be permitted to enter the territory of the Netherlands. Moreover, the certificates were subject to several criteria, like the last vaccine dose being taken within the last nine months or the type of the vaccine being amongst the ones approved by the European Medicines Agency or the World Health Organization.

Announcing the removal of entry restrictions, the Dutch authorities have also noted that the EU Commission might soon issue a proposal on the revision of COVID-19 entry rules to the Member States. “The European Commission is also planning to publish a proposal for revising the rules for entering the European Union (EU) in autumn 2022,” the authorities pointed out. The decision has been taken by the Spanish Ministry of Health, and the same has become effective immediately after being published in the Official State Gazette.

The move means that travellers from non-EU/Schengen countries who are aged 12 and older are required to present a certificate of vaccination, a negative COVID test, or a recovery certificate upon their arrival in order to be permitted to enter the country.